Demand For All Things Sox Heats Up After World Series

Retailers Are Scrambling To Meet Red Sox Nation’s Demand

The demand for Red Sox merchandise had “stores scrambling to meet the surge in demand, not always successfully,” according to Paul Grimaldi of the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Athlete’s Foot and Champs near Providence all had problems securing certain World Series merchandise on Thursday morning. Dick’s Senior VP/Strategic Planning Jeff Hennion said the delay was “a regionwide problem and not limited to us.” Dick’s District Manager Eric Saeur “attributed the delay to a distributor who couldn’t deliver the goods on time” (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 10/29). LeeAnn Coleman, who works in an office building near Fenway Park, said that fans waited in long lines to buy World Series paraphernalia. Coleman: “They wait in line for an hour, and then to every person that they pass, it’s ‘Look what I got!’” (L.A. TIMES, 10/29).

New Era Expects Strong Sales Outside New England As Well

MAD HATTERS: USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand reports New Era, before the World Series was over, had shipped 127,000 Red Sox hats with another 18,000 on order. Cardinals fans purchased 46,000, and there were 1,700 on order. Reebok VP/Team Properties Eddie White said that typically, “at least 90% of merchandise sales related to pro sports championship teams are sold in the team’s home market,” but the Red Sox “have an extra appeal.” Olympia Sports Chair Ed Manganello: “In retail sales, this should be five to ten times bigger than the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins” (USA TODAY, 10/29). In Boston, Powell & Arends report Hat World indicated that its Red Sox hats are “flying off the shelves across the country.” Hat World Exec VP Glenn Campbell said sales are up “probably 1,000[%]” from a year ago. The company’s Web site “had its best day ever,” and Hat World “has ordered an extra 100,000 caps” from its suppliers. Campbell: “I’ve seen the Cowboys and the Patriots win the Super Bowl, I’ve seen the Yankees win the World Series, but I’ve never seen anything like this.” Meanwhile, Topps is issuing a special Red Sox World Series 55-card set for $19.99, something Topps spokesperson Clay Luraschi said that the company does not typically do (BOSTON HERALD, 10/29).

DVD: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Adams & Lefton report MLBP “expects to sell more than 100,000 copies of the special postseason DVD, a huge jump from the 20,000 to 40,000 copies generally sold for other recent World Series participants.” MLBP VP/Programming & Business Affairs Elizabeth Scott said that this year’s DVD, “which in its best season sold about 300,000 copies, is expected to surpass all previous records” (SBJ, 11/1 issue).

PAPER TRAIL: In Boston, Franci Richardson reports the Boston Herald published three editions yesterday totaling 750,000 copies, compared to an average run of 300,000. Herald VP/Circulation John Hoarty said it was the paper’s “largest circulation run in history.” The Boston Globe, which produced over 1 million copies compared to a normal Thursday run of 525,000, had its largest run in its history for a non-Sunday edition. A newspaper vendor said his sales of the rival papers were “neck and neck. They’re selling equally.” The Herald yesterday sold 10,000 copies to a Boston sports memorabilia broker and 6,000 to a person in Florida (BOSTON HERALD, 10/29).

CRYSTAL CLEAR: Filene’s is exclusively selling 10,000 Waterford crystal commemorative baseballs featuring the Red Sox and World Series logos for $155 each. The companies will donate $10 from the sale of each ball to the Jimmy Fund. Filene’s and Waterford will also make a $30,000 crystal trophy (Filene’s).

CONGRATS: MLB congratulates the Red Sox in a full-page ad in today’s USA Today with the text, “Finally an answer to the question, ‘Could this be the year?’” (THE DAILY).